Lili's Travelin' Soldier
by puffinperfection
Summary: AU When part-time waitress Lili Vogel meets army man Vash Zwingli one day at a local cafe, the two find a love connection between one another. However, when Vash leaves for Vietnam, can the two maintain a long-distance relationship with the constant fear of injury, disappearance, and death? Songfic to 'Travelin' Soldier' by the Dixie Chicks.


_AN: I do not own the lyrics to or the song 'Travelin' Soldier' or the anime of Hetalia: Axis Powers, both belong to their amazing, respected owners; The Dixie Chicks and Hidekaz Himaruya._

_Two days past eighteen, he was waitin' for a bus in his army greens.  
Sat down in a booth, in a café there.  
Gave his order to a girl with a bow in her hair.  
He's a little shy, so she give him a smile,  
And he says, "Would you mind sitting down for a while  
And talkin' to me, I'm feelin' a little low."  
She says, "I'm off in an hour, and I know where we can go."_

Lili Vogel swiped off another table with a worn-looking washrag, lifting up the dishes as she went along. Today was a slow day, much was really going on. Customers came and went, and the only reason some of them really came inside was to warm up, the rather chilly October weather seeping through their jackets. However, she liked it this way. She wasn't being driven hard by her boss Arthur today due to the emptiness of the café, and it was a good change. Heck, even Arthur was probably enjoying the lazy day.

She gripped the handle of her cart and was heading to clean off another table when she was stopped by her fellow waitress Michelle Mancham.

"Here, Lili, I'll take that," she said ever-so politely, handing Lili the pencil and notepad from her pocket. "I'm sure old Artie won't mind if we switch jobs today." She pointed to a booth in the far left corner, where a man was taking a seat. From here, all either of them could see that he was wearing military clothing and had blonde hair in a short bob. "Go on now, don't keep a man waiting!"

Michelle shoved her lightly as she pushed the cart in the opposite. Quickly dusting her apron off, Lili rushed over to the man and said, as sweetly as she could, "Good day, sir. May I take your order?"

Now she could clearly see his facial details, even though his head was slightly bowed. She saw he held a rather stern expression, and his eyes (which reminded her of those bright green lollipops her uncle very occasionally got her) held a slight glare. He very quietly muttered his order, and Lili immediately knew what to do.

She gave him a sincere smile, trying to lighten the mood. "Could you please repeat that?" she asked as politely as she could, tilting back on her heels, which caused her Mary-Janes to squeak on accident.

He nodded. "A black coffee, please," he repeated as he pulled his wallet from his pocket. Lili nodded, scribbled that onto the notepad, and turned around.

Just as she made her way to the kitchen, she heard the man call ou, "Hey, miss?" Immediately curious about what he'd have to say, she rushed back over to him.

"Yes, sir?" she asked, a larger smile grazing her lips. "Do you need something?"

"No. Well, I mean, yes, I do, but-" He shook his head and took a deep breath, saying, "Would you mind sitting down for a while and talking to me, I'm feeling a little low."

Surprised, Lili nodded quickly. "I'm off in an hour, and I know where we can go."

_So they went down and they sat on the pier.  
He said, "I bet'cha got a boyfriend, but I don't care.  
I've got no one to send a letter to.  
Would you mind if I sent one back here to you?"_

An hour later, after handing in her apron, Lili led the soldier to a close-by pier. The two sat on the very edge, Lili's shoes forgotten a few feet away. She looked up at the sky as she swung her legs, he toes occasionally grazing the top of the water.

She personally thought today was a perfect day, not because of anything that happened, but because of the weather, the scenery. Sure, it was chilly, but she was still capable of dangling her bare feet in the water without them freezing. Sure, it was windy, but that didn't require Lili to hold her short hair up in a hat. The sky was a foggy, light blue with clouds shielding the people from sunlight. In short, she thought it was amazing.

"What is your name, if I may ask?" the man said, his eyes on the water. She realized he seemed rather short, and that he had a habit of bowing his head, but she didn't at all mind that.

"Lili Vogel," she said sweetly, smiling. "And yours?"

"Vash Zwingli." Vash looked up at Lili's sandy blonde hair and touched the purple ribbon tied in it lightly. "This is a very nice accessory," he stated plainly. "What gave you the idea to wear it?"

Lili giggled quietly, remembering exactly why she wore the ribbon. "Earlier in the year, I got chewing gum stuck in my braid and I cut it off. I cut the other off so it would look even, and my aunt Elizabeta bought me the ribbon so I wouldn't be mistaken for a boy."

"It's nice," he said, his gaze focusing on th water again. In attempts to lighten the mood, Lili rested her hand atop of his, and a blush immediately crossed his face.

"Lili, can I ask you something?" he said, and the girl nodded, looking at Vash curiously. "Well, it's just- I'll start here." He took a deep breath and said, "I bet you've got a boyfriend, but I don't care. I've got no one to send a letter to while I'm away. Would you mind if I sent one back here to you?"

A large grin made its way onto Lili's face as she wrapped her arms around Vash's neck, pulling him in for a tight hug. "Even if I did have a boyfriend, I would've allowed you to send me one," she whispered into his ear. "And I promise to write back."

All they did for the next couple of hours was talk about everything and nothing else. Lili learned that Vash was only two days past eighteen, and that he was troop being sent to Vietnam, to help the Americans. She couldn't believe that someone so young, barely into adulthood, was being sent to the front line, but Vash told her not to worry. He said he would be safe, and that was a promise.

_I cried.  
Never gonna hold the hand of another guy.  
"To young for him," they told her,  
"Waitin' for the love of a travelin' soldier."  
Our love will never end, waitin' for the soldier to come back again.  
Never more to be alone,  
When the letter says "A soldier's comin' home"._**  
**

Lili couldn't help but cry when he brought her with him to see him off a few hours later. She noticed the tears begin to run down her face when Vash unexpected kissed her, pressing his cold, slightly chapped lips to her soft, warm ones. He promised to come back again as he ran off, yelling over his shoulder the whole way to the bus. The last thing she said to him was "I love you", before the bus drove off, leaving her and the families of the other soldiers to wallow around in sadness.

She hadn't even realized how late it was when he left. It was 7:31 PM, and half an hour past her curfew. At this time, though, she didn't really care if Uncle Roderich did get upset with her and go on with a lecture about rules and discipline, even take away her allowance, because she had done this for love.

However, if she didn't want to be locked in her room for the rest of the week, she'd have to hurry home.

"Lili Vogel, where have you been?" Roderich Edelstein, Lili's uncle, demanded the second she opened the front door. He had his arms crossed and was tapping his foot against the neatly polished wood floor. "And are you aware that it is thirty-eight minuters past your curfew?"

I'm sorry, Uncle Roderich, it won't happen again," she said quietly as she slipped her Mary-Jane shoes off, proceeding to disappear in her bedroom and wait for Aunt Elizabeta come and talk to her, just as she always did when she got in trouble.. However, before she could disappear, Roderich laid a hand on her shoulder and cleared his throat.

"Lili, where were you?" he asked again in a more stern tone.

Lili turned around to face Roderich and calmly asked, "Do you want me to be honest?"

A shocked, somewhat disgusted look crossed his face, but he nodded all the same, however, not before calling in his wife Elizabeta and muttering to her, "I believe Lili's done something she shouldn't have."

The girl took a nervous breath, tightened her shoulders, and said, "At the café today, an hour before my shift was supposed to end, I met a really nice man, only a couple of days past eighteen, and he was rather shy. I spent the rest of the day with him on the pier, and he's going to write a letter to me while he's on the front line. And when I went to see him off..." She paused, wondering if she should tell them the next part. "When I saw him off, he kissed me."

Roderich paused, then said, "Elizabeta, I don't think I want to handle this. Can you?" Elizabeta nodded, and Roderich wandered out of the room, saying something about 'crazy military men'

Elizabeta cleared her throat and gave the fourteen year old a reassuring smile that said _You're not in any trouble. _Lili loosened her shoulders as her aunt spoke up.

"Now, Lili, We're not mad at you," she said kindly, before pausing and taking back her words. "Well, _I'm _not mad at you. I don't know what goes through your uncle's head." She shook her head. "Anyway, I realize that you love this man, but you're much too young for him."

"It's only a four-year difference," Lili said bluntly, and her aunt sighed.

"Yes, sweetheart, I know that. The point is that, no matter how much you love this boy, your relationship is considered illegal. I know you wouldn't want this soldier to get into any trouble."

Lili paused, realizing that her aunt did have a point. "You're right, Aunt Eliza. I'm sorry."

"No, no, Lili, I'm not done with you yet." A small smile spread across the olde woman's face as she grabbed Lili's wrist, pulling her in closer. "Two years," she whispered in the younger one's ear before letting her go.

She stifled a giggle at Elizabeta as she rushed into her bedroom, collapsing onto her bed as a few tears fell from her eyes. She couldn't believe how disapproving Roderich was, how disgusted he seemed! It outraged her more than she imagined anything ever could, and yet, she fully understood why he did.

He didn't want her to get hurt, and she knew it wasn't meant in a physical way.

_So the letters came from an army camp._  
_In California, then Vietnam._  
_And he told her of his heart,_  
_It might be love and all of the things he was so scared of._  
_He said, "When it's gettin' kinda rough over here,_  
_I think of that day sittin' down at the pier,  
__And I close my eyes, and see your pretty smile.  
Don't worry, but I won't be able to write for a while."  
_

Vash, to no surprise, kept his word and wrote to his young lover as often as he could. The first one came from a camp in California, and Lili was relieved to see he wasn't fighting yet. He spoke of how many of the other army men had kept pictures of their lovers with them so they'd feel more close to home. He said that he didn't need a picture of Lili, however, because he saw he beautiful face, that short, sandy blonde hair of hers and the wonderful purple ribbon, her deep blue-green eyes, and the sweetest smile he had ever seen. He said he missed her dearly, and couldn't wait to return home.

Lili replied with how much she missed him, how she missed the feeling of his rough hands in her soft ones, how she missed his beautiful eyes, everything. She told him what had happened with Roderich and Elizabeta on the day he left, fearing his reaction. She ended the letter with "_I love you_", and she had with every single letter.

And from the day she received that first letter on, Lili carried that letter with her wherever she went.

Another particular letter came from the fighting zone in Vietnam. In it, Vash described how violent the Americans had gotten, how he had seen innocent Vietnamese citizens killed, how he couldn't stand the amount of mayhem that was going on here. This one ended with "_Don't worry, but I won't be able to write for a while._"

_I cried.  
Never gonna hold the hand of another guy.  
"To young for him," they told her,  
"Waitin' for the love of a travelin' soldier."  
Our love will never end, waitin' for the soldier to come back again.  
Never more to be alone,  
When the letter says "A soldier's comin' home"._

That letter put Lili on end. From the first moment she laid eyes on it to the ten minutes she spent rereading the last line, her heart raced, bound to beat out of her chest. She didn't tell anyone, none of the fellow workers at the café, none of her schoolmates, not even her guardians. They'd all say the same thing, "_Don't worry, Lili, it'll be fine. The American forces are great, so he'll be safe._" She knew better than to believe that. She knew how war worked, and she was certain it wasn't pretty.

One day at dinner was particularly bad, when Elizabeta made the mistake of mentioning Vash at the table.

"Have you heard from him lately?" she asked as she wiped the corners of her mouth on her napkin. "If so, how is your soldier doing?"

Lili immediately looked up from her dinner plate at the mention of "her soldier", nearly dropping her fork. "Oh, Vash?" she said quietly, looking down at her lap. "He's been..." She paused, preparing to lie to her guardians about the state of Vash. "He's been g-go-good."

Roderich looked over at Lili, who was trying to avoid everyone's gaze. "Really now?" he asked in attempts to get the truth from his niece. She so rarely lied that it was obvious to tell when she was, she tried to hide away without leaving her place. "What is 'Vash' up to these days?"

That was when the teenager cracked. She began to shake, tears rolling down her cheeks as she tried to avoid looking at Roderich. "H-he's not okay," she croaked as Elizabeta rushed to her aid. "He w-went into combat and h-h-hasn't written ba-back since he told me."

"Don't you worry, my dear, everything will be alright," Elizabeta whispered soothingly, wiping the fourteen year old's cheeks off with and unused napkin. "The United States has amazing military strength, Vash is protected, I promise."

"Ha-have you heard about the f-fatalities from Vietnam?" she exclaimed. "So many pe-people are being killed, i-it's like a slaughter-house!"

"Lili, Lili, look at me," Elizabeta commanded politely, and Lili obliged. She looked up at her aunt, who said firmly, "If he knew he had you to come home for, he'd be extra careful. I know I would."

Without warning, Lili threw her arms around Elizabeta, who grinned. "Okay, Lili, that's enough," she chuckled, and the younger one detached herself. "Now, go get cleaned up. Me and you are going hang out for a bit." She knew spending some time with her would calm Lili down, or even get her mind off of Vash, so she went with it. It always seemed to work other times.

_One Friday night at a football game,  
__The Lord's prayer said and the anthem sang,  
A man said, "Folks, would you bow you heads  
For a list of local Vietnam dead."  
_

Lili twirled her piccolo through her fingers as the game-goers sat back down in their seats. It had been a few weeks since their football team had played, thus it had been a while since she had been marching with the rest of the school's band. She truly did love playing the piccolo, it was one of her favorite pastimes, and not to mention that her talent on the instrument made Uncle Roderich proud.

Just as the director signalled for the band to raise their instruments, a voice rang over the stadium.

"Excuse me, ladies and gentlemen, before we begin, would you bow your heads for a list of local Vietnam dead."

Lili bowed her head as she was told, her fingers crossed as tightly as they could be, praying that Vash was not on that list.

Eight names later, and their was still no sign of his name. She was just about to let out a sigh of relief, knowing he was safe and sound, until she heard the name Vash Zwingli ring throughout the small stadium.

_Cryin' all alone under the stands  
__Was a piccolo player in the marching band.  
And one name read, and nobody really cared  
But a pretty little girl with a bow in her hair.  
_

At this moment, Lili's world paused. She immediately rose from her seat and, despite the director's calls for her to come back, stormed from the stands. She ran all the way to the pier where she and Vash had spent the entire day together and stood on the edge, looking into the water as she sobbed. She could almost see his reflection in the water, sitting next to her on the edge as she held his hand.

She couldn't believe it, she didn't _want_ to believe it. She wished and wished and wished that this was all a cruel dream, that she'd wake up and find a fresh letter from Vash. She knew that wouldn't happen though, she was in a cruel reality that she yearned to leave.

She stared into the icy water, contemplating whether to jump or not. Vash was gone, _her _Vash was gone, and now she had nothing more to wait and pray for.

Lili nodded, taking a step over the edge, about to take her second foot off when-

"Oh, Lili, there you are!"

The next thing she knew, she had been grabbed around the waist by one of her aunt Elizabeta's friends, who was carrying her to a pickup truck. She started to kick and cry out for someone to free her from this grasp (Vash, the police, Vash, the Lord himself, and Vash being her favorites), and soon she was held down in the bed of the truck by Elizabeta and her friend Gilbert.

_I cried.  
Never gonna hold the hand of another guy.  
"To young for him," they told her,  
"Waitin' for the love of a travelin' soldier."  
Our love will never end, waitin' for the soldier to come back again.  
Never more to be alone,  
When the letter says "A soldier's comin' home"._

After that great fiasco, Lili was taken home, where she stationed herself in her bedroom and refused to come out. She refused food to the point where she had to be taken to the hospital, and, of course, all the blame was on Vash. She could hear people hiss about how it was his fault ad she was in such a terrible state because of him and no one else. Lili refused to hear that, though, and took all the blame for her current state at the rare times her opinion was asked.

People told her to move on, but she refused to put her past love behind her. He was the most important part of her life, and she stubbornly refused to move on. On the day of his funeral, when Lili accepted the folded-up flag they gave her, she kept it with her for a long as she could, proving to herself that sometimes the hardest thing to let go of is the past.


End file.
